Five best bets for fall comedy

Throwing Shade, Aparna Nancherla, and more.

1

Eric Andre Live!September 12

On The Eric Andre Show, anything can and will happen. In a recent episode of the Adult Swim late-night talk show parody, for instance, Andre had musical guest Ariel Pink drenched in dirty toilet water, whereupon the comedian dubbed him "Ariel Stinks." That triggered a rapid-fire bit featuring more visual gags and new half-rhyming nicknames for the artist. If that's the kind of thing that results under the constraints of FCC regulations, one can only imagine what absurdity is in store when the outre comedian takes his show on the road. Mon 9/12, 9 PM, Thalia Hall, 1227 W. 18th, thaliahallchicago.com, $20-$25.

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Robyn Von Swank

2

Throwing ShadeSeptember 22

Comics Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi are like two of your loudest, most opinionated best friends; they seem to have something interesting to say about everything. On their Throwing Shade podcast, they take the week's biggest stories, from pop culture to politics, and dispense truths as if they're just chatting at a bar. Sometimes the truth hurts—but with these two at least, it's also always entertaining. For this event, they'll record an episode live. Thu 9/22, Thalia Hall, 1227 W. 18th, throwingshade.com, $20-$25.

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Getty Images North America

3

Aparna NancherlaSeptember 27

On Just Putting It Out There, Nancherla's debut stand-up album released in July, the charming comic does what the title promises. She starts each joke as if she accidentally walked in front of a microphone, then proceeds to drop dry, observational one-liners. "Apparently women's magazines are written by spambots who want more from life," she says, pausing to let concept sink in, then moving on to the next thought she wants out in the world. Tue 9/27, 8:30 PM, Hideout 1354 W. Wabansia, hideoutchicago.com, $12-$20.

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Courtesy the artists

4

My Favorite MurderNovember 17-19

Murder is no laughing matter. But on the podcast My Favorite Murder, hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark manage to make the grim subject improbably funny. The true-crime-obsessed pair of comedians discuss serial killers, unsolved mysteries, and listeners' hometown homicides in such a casual way—they admit to doing little to no research—that what results is some pretty cheerful banter about some truly gruesome crimes. They'll record a live episode as part of the Chicago Podcast Festival. 11/17-11/19: times TBD, various locations, chicagopodcastfestival.org, $20-$35.

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Patrick Monaghan

5

Marc MaronDecember 3

Whether onstage, on his WTF podcast, or on his eponymous IFC show, Maron has a distinctive way of putting a profound comedic spin on his own neurosis, his personal and romantic failures, and the darkness of daily life as a recovering addict. In July it was announced that the fourth season of his TV show would be its last, so expect him to be ready to unload during this stop on his "Too Real" tour. Sat 12/3, 7:30 PM, the Vic, 3154 N. Sheffield, jamusa.com, $41.